www.managedITmag.co.uk 21 SOFTWARE Panasonic TOUGHBOOK warns that the window is closing for organisations with 1,000+ employees hoping to make a well-planned, cost-effective transition to Windows 11 before support for Windows 10 ends on October 14 2025. Its whitepaper, Navigating the Shift: The Business Case for Upgrading to Windows 11, highlights the concerns of organisations that have not yet completed their migration to Windows 11 and the risks they face in delaying it beyond October 2025. One of the biggest worries for the 200 UK and German organisations surveyed is the risk to security of inaction or delay, with 98% of IT decision-makers saying they are ‘likely’ to invest in Microsoft’s Extended Security Update (ESU) if they have not completed their migration to Windows 11 by October. More than half (58%) lack confidence in their ability to manage device security without either completing the migration or investing in ESU, exposing them to higher ransomware and malware risk (cited by 94%), data breaches (93%), a lack of patches for new security threats (91%), compliance risks (89%) and the impact on business reputation (88%). Another concern is the cost of delaying Windows 11 migration beyond October 2025, with Microsoft advising that an enterprise with 1,000 devices will face an ESU bill of approximately £320,000 over the three years that ESU is available1. Two-thirds predict that they’ll face higher costs overall, from multiple factors including higher cybersecurity expenses (cited by 55%), increased support costs (48%), the need to address business continuity risks (46%), increased maintenance costs (40%) and higher hardware costs (38%). A phased approach The organisations surveyed by Panasonic operate an average of 4,000 devices and estimate that 62% of these either already have been or still need to be replaced or upgraded to ensure compatibility with Windows 11. This rises to 76% of devices in organisations with more than 5,000 employees. Three quarters (75%) of respondents are adopting a phased approach, in part to minimise loss of productivity caused by downtime as devices are upgraded, cited as a concern by 45% of respondents. With application and business software compatibility cited as another migration challenge by 47%, one quarter (25%) of respondents are choosing to delay software upgrades to coincide with device replacement. Upgrades will be managed through a combination of remote upgrades (46%) and in-person upgrades (54%), with 64% expecting to draw heavily on device manufacturer support during the process, like that provided by Panasonic. Benefits of migration outweigh risks of delay Respondents currently migrating to Windows 11 expect to unlock benefits in areas such as security and protection (44%), performance and processing power (36%), future-proofed device ecosystems (36%), AI features, such as Microsoft Copilot or Bing AI (34%), and Edge AI capabilities in the field (29%). Chris Turner, Head of Go-to-Market at Panasonic TOUGHBOOK Europe, said: “The cost, security and performance risks of delay are steadily increasing as the end-of-life deadline approaches, which is especially concerning in the critical sectors we surveyed, including emergency services, field services, utilities and defence organisations. By acting now, businesses can avoid incurring both cost and risk beyond October 2025.” https://eu.connect.panasonic.com the NFC ticketing system and eliminate bottlenecks, deploying Wi-Fi 7 access points along with new routers, switches and robust 10-gigabit Ethernet connections to the Internet. “We’ve addressed all our entrance issues,” said Simpson. “From faster entry to real-time visibility of guest attendance, HID’s solution has been transformational.” The efficiency and reliability of the NFC-based system has enabled Chester Racecourse to redeploy three of the six IT staff previously needed to resolve issues at admission gates and given it much greater oversight of visitor numbers. It now knows exactly the number of people who have entered (from tickets sold) and in which enclosure and stands they are located, helping it to comply with capacity obligations and prepare for forthcoming legislation such as Martyn’s Law. It also reduces ticket fraud by eliminating barcode sharing or resale by touts. Looking ahead, Chester Race Company plans to expand NFC ticketing across its wider portfolio and explore additional features within HID’s EMP, such as loyalty program integration and accreditation management for staff and contractors. “We’re the oldest racecourse in the world using leading-edge technology,” said Simpson. “HID’s solutions are enabling us to create modern, memorable experiences for our guests by streamlining admissions totally, using a tool that everyone has in their pocket – a smartphone.” www.hidglobal.com Act now or pay later Panasonic research highlights cost of delaying Windows 11 migration Reference: 1. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/extended-security-updates
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